PERU — The Board of Selectmen on Monday tabled two citizen petitions calling for the removal of board Chairwoman Wendy Henderson and Vice Chairman John Witherell. Each petition had over 100 signatures. The petition for Henderson said she has not carried out her duties as a selectman, often failing to represent the will of the […]
River Valley
News and information about the River Valley area from the Sun Journal.
Litchfield man arrested on sex charges
RUMFORD — A 31-year-old Litchfield resident has been arrested on sex charges following a lengthy investigation by Rumford police, according to Chief Stacy Carter. In a news release, Carter said Wayne Hull was charged with unlawful sexual touching of a child under 12 years old, dissemination of sexually explicit material and possession of sexually explicit material […]
West Paris woman rescuing horses, restoring ‘faith’
WEST PARIS — There’s Atlas, a former New York City carriage horse who developed permanent bladder problems. Apollo, a former Amish cart horse with knees that barely function. And Smokey, a saddle-bred horse that lost his owner to cancer and missed her so much that for a time he was very aggressive. These horses, and […]
River Valley Pumpkin Fest a success
RUMFORD — Hundreds of people attended the fifth annual River Valley Pumpkin Fest on Saturday in downtown Rumford. Sponsored by EnvisionRumford and Gaskyl Productions, there were over 60 vendor booths, food, games and contests, raffles and a bench auction. As people carved 250 pumpkins during the day, contests like hands-on-the-ice, a tug-of-war, hay bale toss, seed-spitting, […]
Pupils build boats and rockets at Andover Elementary
ANDOVER — Students at Andover Elementary School had hands-on science instruction building boats and launching rockets last week. First-, second- and third-graders were in charge of getting Johnny Appleseed across the “river” — a tub of water — in a boat made of 10 popsicle sticks and a piece of string. Every student was successful and […]
Regional agenda
Monday Casco: Planning Board, 7 p.m., Casco Community Center Farmington: Franklin County Commission, 9 a.m., county building Hartford: Planning Board, 7 p.m., Town Office New Vineyard: Selectmen, 6 p.m., Smith Hall Peru: Selectmen, 6 p.m., Town Office Rumford: Rumford Public Library board of trustees, 3 p.m., library Rumford: Selectmen, 5:30 p.m., Municipal Building Tuesday Buckfield: […]
Should Poland Spring tap Rumford? Fear of trucks, drought and a ‘Goliath’
RUMFORD — Colin Smorawski, a Massachusetts native and Maine College of Art grad, was cooking at a Portland restaurant when he saw an ad for 98.6 acres that backed onto Mount Dimmock. “I saw it on Craigslist, believe it or not, when I was looking around and daydreaming about farms we could try to own,” […]
Hall Farms: Dairy Farm of the Year
EAST DIXFIELD — Hall Farms has been named the 2016 Maine Dairy Farm of the Year by the New England Green Pastures Program. The participating farms were judged on their financial management, production levels and quality and their overall contribution to the agriculture community. Hall Farms has been home to the Hall family since it […]
Rusticating on Round Pond: The Woodsum’s Field Camps
For nearly two centuries, the Alder River Ponds in Greenwood and Woodstock —North Alder, South Alder and Round Alder, which are known today simply as North, South and Round ponds — have played a major role in the area’s economy. Samuel Locke built the first dam on the Alder River, about 500 feet above the […]